


direct counter

by lynne_monstr



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, Episode: s03e20 City of Glass, Gen, Magical Exhaustion, Minor Injuries, Well they're getting there, seeking help from the enemy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 04:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20924357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynne_monstr/pseuds/lynne_monstr
Summary: There’s no time for Lorenzo to gloat about how he was right about Magnus Bane all along. He’s too preoccupied with not being killed by the greater demon who smashed through his wards like they were paper.(AU where Magnus doesn't go with Asmodeus to take back the loft.)





	direct counter

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [sh_ficletinstruments](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/sh_ficletinstruments) collection. 

> **Prompt: Misperception**
> 
> One character has always thought something was true. Another demonstrates how wrong they are.

There’s no time for Lorenzo to gloat about how he was right about Magnus Bane all along. He’s too preoccupied with not being killed by the greater demon who smashed through his wards like they were paper.

Gathering the last of his magic, he shapes a portal with his unbroken arm and follows the brightest flare of magic he can find. It’s strangely familiar but there’s no time to dwell. He needs power, someone strong enough to keep Asmodeus at bay while Lorenzo recovers.

There’s nothing of his usual elegance in the way he stumbles out of the portal.

By the looks of it, he’s in a hotel corridor. It’s a mark of how severe his injuries are that he doesn’t stop to appreciate the finery. The need for safety beats too furiously in his veins. A few unsteady steps brings him to a locked door and a heavy set of wards. Before he can knock, it swings open.

To his shame, the sight of the room's occupant sends him scampering backwards. The dregs of his magic coalesce into his good arm.

Magnus Bane looks nothing like the man who nearly died in the Institute’s infirmary days ago. His makeup is sharp and not a hair is out of place. The gold of his eyes has a cruel edge, an exact match to the demon Lorenzo barely escaped from.

“Lorenzo? What are you doing here?”

Horror settles deep in Lorenzo’s gut at the full extent of his miscalculation. The bright pillar of power he felt earlier. That’s why it felt familiar. It belongs to Magnus.

How ironic for him to escape certain death only to run straight to his enemy. “I suppose you think this is funny.”

"There's a lot of things that are a joke about you. Which one in particular were you referring to?"

Lorenzo straightens, fully expecting to be killed. Perhaps Magnus will take his magic first, in some twisted form of revenge. What he doesn’t expect is for Magnus to step back in invitation and, with a flourish, ask him, “Are you coming in or not? I can’t keep these wards open indefinitely.”

“Why are you helping me?” Lorenzo asks, once his injuries have been tended to. That was another surprise, Magnus offering his magic to heal him.

With a wave of his hand, Magnus summons a pair of drinks, downing his in one large swallow. “I’m not my father.”

It’s a direct counter to everything Lorenzo’s always privately thought about the man, and it prods him to look closer at his unexpected benefactor. Magnus’ back is too straight, his smile too bright. Something awful happened to him, Lorenzo realizes, something that upended his world and drove him to this hotel room. Perhaps something related to Lorenzo's own near death experience.

He has time to puzzle out the answers later. For now, he’ll rest and recover behind the strength of Magnus’ wards and perhaps concede that Magnus Bane might not be so awful after all.


End file.
